The Fundraiser
by awesomegurl68
Summary: Nancy Donahue and Sue host a fundraiser dance for charity while Sean is away in Ghana. Sue gets a surprise when the day finally arrives.


Sue unloaded an armful of red, white, and blue poster boards onto the already cluttered kitchen table. She looked down at the glittery text that she had written on the boards with satisfaction. Brad stood on the other side of the table and nodded in agreement. "These look great, but I think it could use just a little bit more glitter." Brad decided as he reached for the glitter glue. Summer was finally coming to an end after what seemed like an eternity. Sue was missing her new, but currently long-distance boyfriend, Sean Donahue. He was spending the summer in Ghana so she tried to keep busy at home. After Nancy Donahue found out about their new relationship, she had come around much more often to chat with Sue and spend time looking at old family pictures. As part of the new relationship, Sue tried to get involved with the Donahues by doing volunteer work with them and spending time with Sean's younger sisters. She had quickly become a part of the family despite Sean not even being there. Most recently, Nancy was planning an end of the summer dance-a-thon fundraiser to raise money for Veterans in Orson. Sue had volunteered to help organize it and most importantly, attend the event. She was pretty bummed that Sean wouldn't be able to be there to be her partner, since he wasn't going to be coming back for another week, right before school was about to start once again. In his absence, Sue asked Brad to be her dance partner and he eagerly accepted.

"So do you know what you're going to wear?" Brad asked his long time best friend.

"Yeah, actually I got a new...well...almost new summer dress from the church rummage sale last week. Wanna see?" She asked. Brad nodded and Sue ran into her bedroom and quickly returned, proudly holding up her purple and green floral patterned dress. Brad's eyes lit up.

"Wow, that looks great!" He said in surprise, pleased with his friend's improving sense of fashion.

"Thanks! I just wish Sean was going to be there to see it...Oh well, I guess I can just wear it again when he gets back." She said.

"When is he coming back anyway?" Asked Brad.

"A week after the fundraiser...ugh...I miss him soooooo much, you have no idea, Brad." Sue lamented.

"Oh, I have an idea." Brad tapped his fingers on the table but still had a smile on his face. Sue had been talking about Sean all summer. Brad didn't mind though. He was happy to see his friend finally happy again.

A familiar voice filled the living room entry way and Brad and Sue looked towards the front door.

"Yoo-hoo! Where's my favorite daughter-in-law?" Nancy cheerfully asked as she tip toed toward the kitchen table. Sue looked down and blushed slightly at the statement, remembering that her and Sean had yet to even go out on a date yet.

"Hi, Mrs. Donahue!" Brad happily yelled and gave her a friendly wave.

"Oh, Hi, Brad! Thank you so much for helping Sue out with these posters. They look great!" Nancy said happily. Brad looked down and admired his work.

"Happy to help! And I'm always looking for an excuse to dance!" Brad said.

"Oh, Sue." Nancy began. "I talked to Sean this morning! He is so excited to see you next week! It's a shame that he can't be here for the fundraiser. He just loves to dance." Nancy laughed, remembering the time when Sean so happily danced at the Ron Cougar Mellencamp concert they had attended years ago on Orson's 100th anniversary. His trip to Ghana had been hard on her too and she missed her son dearly.

"Awww, I wish he could be here too." Sue said. She wished that she had been able to talk to Sean more often this summer, but he didn't have much time and the internet connection from Ghana was shotty at best.

* * *

Frankie looked at her daughter and couldn't believe how beautiful she looked in her simple summer dress and sparkly flats. "You look so beautiful!" She commented to Sue as she handed her a small satchel. Sue stuffed her cell phone and keys inside of it and slung the skinny strap over her shoulder. "Thanks, Mom." She said as she looked down at herself, pleased with how the dress accented her subtle curves.

"You sure have been spending a lot of time with Nancy Donahue." Frankie stated, trying to hide the twinge of jealousy that she felt inside. It had only been a few months since she dropped Axl off in Denver for his new career and now Sue was spending a lot of her free time with her new 'mom.'

"I know, Mom. I'm just trying to stay busy, you know? Plus all of this charity work will look good on my resume so it's a win-win." Sue said. "You know, you're more than welcome to come along!" Sue said excitedly, tugging Frankie by the arm. Frankie pulled back, not interested in doing much more than hanging out on the couch with a frosting sandwich and watching The Bachelor. "

"Have fun at the dance, honey!" Frankie said as she gently pushed Sue towards the door.

"See you later, Mom." Sue said as she stepped outside.

* * *

The conference room of Orson Inn and Suites was hardly recognizable as Sue stepped inside of the room in awe. She had shadowed housekeeping a few times over the summer as part of her Hospitality degree requirements and had been in this room a few times during the day, but this was the first time she saw it at night, fully decorated. She helped Nancy with some of the decorating a few days ago, but she must have come in on her own to add more. The "America" theme was quite obvious, with American flags lining the walls of the conference room and red, white, and blue streamers hanging from the ceiling. Twinkling, white lights hung along the tops of the walls and the snack table was overflowing with homemade appetizers. The room already had roughly 20 participants in attendance which was more than they were expecting in the first place. Sue noticed Brad standing near the snack table, shoving a star shaped piece of cheese in his mouth. When he noticed her in the doorway, he excitedly waved and started walking in her direction.

"Isn't this perfect!?" Brad asked in his usual exuberant voice. Sue nodded and she took his hand as he led her to the dance floor. The DJ, a boy she recognized from their church, played a familiar 90's tune as the group danced and sang along to the lyrics. Sue smiled as she awkwardly swung her hips to the beat and mouthed the words to _Ice, Ice, Baby._ Brad laughed as he watched her clumsily dance to the music and when he looked behind her, a huge smile spread across his face. Sue laughed and slowed her movements.

"What's so funny?" She asked, still slowly moving her hips. Brad was still gleaming when she felt a few light taps on her shoulder. Sue spun around so quickly that she would have fell if she wouldn't have been caught by a pair of strong arms. Her eyes grew comically wide and her mouth was gaping wide open in shock.

"Do you mind if I cut in?" Sean asked Brad and Brad nodded his head incredibly fast and quickly hopped away in the direction of the snack table.

"Sean!" Sue squealed as she hurled her thin body against his chest, squeezing him as tight as she could. Sean wrapped his arms around her and put his head on her shoulder, enjoying the contact after a long few months away from home. "What are you doing here?" Sue finally asked.

"My mom told me about tonight and I thought you could use a date...so I found someone to cover for me for the last week and I hopped on the first plane back home." He smiled brightly at the love of his life, noticing for the first time her beautiful outfit. He took a step back for a moment to admire her.

"I can't believe you're here! I missed you so so much!" Sue shouted and she pulled his face toward hers, pressing her lips against his for the first time in nearly three months. Sean wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, kissing her back gently. When they parted, he couldn't stop smiling and squeezed her against him again, knowing now that he didn't have to say goodbye. A slow song began to play he stepped back, holding out his hand.

"So, do I finally get to have the honor of sharing a dance with you, Suzy Q?" He asked, knowing for the first time that she would say yes.

"Of course!" Sue gleamed while she took his hand. He pulled her closer, lining up their bodies and leading her in their first dance. Sue leaned her head against his chest, breathing in his scent that she missed for so long and he kissed the top of her head. He leaned down to whisper into her ear.

"I love you, Sue...it's good to be home." He said.

"I love you, too." She said with a smile, reaching up to kiss him again as they slowly swayed back and forth to the music, everything else disappearing into the background as they moved across the dance floor in a state of bliss.


End file.
